diff --git a/newsfragments/2340.feature.rst b/newsfragments/2340.feature.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..208a28c40d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/newsfragments/2340.feature.rst
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Added 'Breaking Changes' and 'Deprecations' categories to our release notes
diff --git a/newsfragments/validate_files.py b/newsfragments/validate_files.py
index ba3bae96b2..391483249c 100755
--- a/newsfragments/validate_files.py
+++ b/newsfragments/validate_files.py
@@ -11,7 +11,8 @@
     '.doc.rst',
     '.feature.rst',
     '.misc.rst',
-    '.removal.rst',
+    '.breaking-change.rst',
+    '.deprecation.rst',
 }
 
 ALLOWED_FILES = {
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 97533d0116..804cc73713 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -5,3 +5,13 @@
     underlines = ["-", "~", "^"]
     issue_format = "`#{issue} <https://github.com/ethereum/web3.py/issues/{issue}>`__"
     title_format = "v{version} ({project_date})"
+
+[[tool.towncrier.type]]
+directory = "breaking-change"
+name="Breaking Changes"
+showcontent=true
+
+[[tool.towncrier.type]]
+directory = "deprecation"
+name = "Deprecations"
+showcontent = true